Throughout Carson City, restaurants are closing their doors due to labor shortages

Carson City is just one area that is noticing a worldwide trend of labor shortages in restaurants, and due to that shortage, several locally-owned eateries are being forced to reduce the number of days they're open during the week, or stop serving dinner.

In January, the U.S. Department of Labor released findings that throughout the U.S. there were 7.6 million unfilled jobs, but only 6.5 million people looking for employment.

The biggest gap in the market now is for skilled and unskilled labor, or “blue collar” jobs. With more and more adults opting to enroll in college versus entering the workforce at an entry level or labor position, it’s no wonder there is a gap left in the labor market. That, coupled with teenagers taking college courses or summer classes while still enrolled in high school, kids simply don’t have as much time as they once did to work.

In Carson alone, the lack of workers is apparent in everything from restaurants to retail. "Help Wanted" signs can be found in dozens of windows, sometimes sitting for weeks or months, and sites like Indeed or Craigslist are clogged with "help wanted immediately" posts.

Roberta Davies, the owner of Carson City’s Bleu Cafe, noticed the trend beginning two years ago.

“It’s been very gradual,” said Davies. “Some people would show up for interviews, but over time, responses have dwindled. We put ads everywhere — Indeed, Facebook, Craigslist; everywhere.”

Bleu Cafe, like many restaurants in town, is looking for skilled workers — specifically, cooks.

“We had to stop serving dinner,” said Davies, “and we had to close two days a week. In order to serve dinner, at least here in our restaurant, we need to have two cooks at night and they have to be skilled. It’s not opening bags and throwing things in a fryer.”

Davis has been in the industry for years, and she’s seen it all. Restaurant work is transitory; people come, they work for a few months or a few years and then they move on. It’s normal.

“What’s not normal,” said Davies, “is there’s no one to move into the vacant positions.”

Bleu Cafe isn’t the only business struggling to find skilled workers. At Sassafras Eclectic Food Joint, owned by Jayme Watts and Anthony “Tony” Fish, they too have been forced to shut their doors two days a week due to a lack of kitchen staff, both cooks and dishwashers.

“In order to reopen to seven days a week, we need two more cooks,” said Fish. "And it takes time to learn our menu."

At both Sassafras and Bleu Cafe, they tout a menu that is handmade, from scratch, with real ingredients. Nothing is microwaved or premade and frozen, which sets them apart from big chains. It gives the food a home-cooked quality, but, it makes finding cooks that much harder.

They started noticing the trend over a year ago, where it became harder and harder to find staffing for their kitchen.

“My unsupported theory is that there is not enough housing in Carson,” said Watts.

“I think that does factor into the equation,” Fish agreed. “It’s the same situation Tahoe has been going through. They need all these workers but there’s nowhere for them to live and they can’t pay enough.”

The housing shortage in Carson City and the surrounding areas is a well-known crisis. Housing prices are getting higher and higher, renting prices are exorbitant. If you can find a place to rent, you may be one of 70 people applying. On top of that, if you do manage to squeeze your way to the front of the line, more and more landlords are asking for qualifications such as: a lack of debt, earning three to five times the cost of rent per month, and having neither pets, nor kids.

Another factor all three agree on: Restaurant work is hard work, and some people would rather work for the same amount of money while sitting in an office. But the only way they, as all owners of small, local business, could pay more would be to raise prices on their menus, something that the local community may not be able to afford.

The people that Sassafras has lost, they haven’t lost to other restaurants; their previous employees moved onto other businesses whether it be construction, real estate, or other non-restaurant fields.

“It’s a good thing,” said Watts. “People are supposed to move up. But the problem is, there’s just no one there to take their place.”

“I think if this continues, it will just lead to restaurants — and even other businesses — changing their business model,” said Davies.

Businesses may begin to reevaluate what it takes to stay open, and how many people they really need to keep the doors open without going under, Davies went on.

“They’ll either have to change how they function, or hang up the towel," she said, "and I’m not ready to hang up the towel."

It’s not only restaurants that are feeling the pressure to find skilled labor workers. In April, Mike Freeman of the Carson City Aquatics Center spoke about their inability to find lifeguards and staff for the community pool, which could lead to pool closures, or getting rid of programs such as swim lessons.

With kids working more in school than in jobs, a shortage of workforce housing, and more adults opting to obtain degrees instead of entering the labor force, it’s created a perfect storm that could lead to a complete shut down of local businesses.

"I don't know what the solution is," said Watts. "If I did, we'd be doing it. So for now, we've had to close down two days a week. That's all we can do right now."